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Kansky R, Maassarani T, Fischer J. Participatory co-learning for human-wildlife coexistence: Reflections on a novel program applying systems thinking, nonviolent communication, and learning-based approaches. AMBIO 2024:10.1007/s13280-024-02032-5. [PMID: 38755428 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-024-02032-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
As wildlife habitats become increasingly fragmented, sharing landscapes with wildlife is becoming difficult and complex. Because stakeholders with diverging interests struggle to collaborate to manage human-wildlife interactions, new approaches are needed. Here we reflect on a novel participatory learning program we implemented with farmers in communal conservancies in the Zambezi region of Namibia. The 9 week program aimed to understand why human-wildlife conflict remained a challenge. We combined three theoretical framings in the program design-systems thinking, nonviolent communication, and learning based approaches. We summarize key outcomes of each session and reflect on the overall program. We found a synergistic effect of the three framings and concluded that our integrated program had been a useful collaborative learning tool to understand the human-wildlife governance system, identify interventions, empower communities, and build capacity for collaboration to improve human wellbeing and human-wildlife interactions. Drawing on our experience, we make suggestions for how the program could be adapted for similar or other environmental problems elsewhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Kansky
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa.
| | - Tarek Maassarani
- Justice and Peace Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Joern Fischer
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI), Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana Universitaet Lueneburg, Universitaetsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany
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Emergency‐line calls as an indicator to assess human–wildlife interaction in urban areas. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
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3
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Pop MI, Dyck MA, Chiriac S, Lajos B, Szabó S, Iojă CI, Popescu VD. Predictors of brown bear predation events on livestock in the Romanian Carpathians. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mihai I. Pop
- Centre for Environmental Research (CCMESI) University of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
- Association for the Conservation of Biological Diversity (ACDB) Focșani Romania
| | - Marissa A. Dyck
- Department of Biological Sciences Ohio University Athens Ohio USA
| | | | - Berde Lajos
- Covasna Environmental Protection Agency Sf. Gheorghe Romania
| | - Szilárd Szabó
- Harghita Environmental Protection Agency Miercurea Ciuc Romania
| | - Cristian I. Iojă
- Centre for Environmental Research (CCMESI) University of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
| | - Viorel D. Popescu
- Centre for Environmental Research (CCMESI) University of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
- Department of Biological Sciences Ohio University Athens Ohio USA
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Neagu AC, Manolache S, Rozylowicz L. The drums of war are beating louder: Media coverage of brown bears in Romania. NATURE CONSERVATION 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.50.86019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The increasing demand for resources to meet the needs of our society has transformed the environment and increased the likelihood of human-wildlife interactions. Romania has the highest density of brown bears in Europe, with more than 7000 individuals populating the Carpathian Mountains and neighboring areas. The large brown bear population in Romania inhabits ever-increasing human-dominated landscapes, which frequently results in conflict with humans. The means and frequency by which the media communicates information to the readership influence the public perception of human-wildlife conflicts. This research is intended to contribute to the existing knowledge on human-brown bear coexistence in Romania by (1) exploring how the Romanian media depicts human-brown bear interactions in terms of the main themes discussed, framing of issues (emotions and key messages), and likely impacts on public perception; (2) analyzing the changes in reporting on human brown-bear interactions following the transition of the legal status of the brown bear from game to strictly protected species; and (3) investigating suggested policy and management solutions. The results indicate that news stories related to brown bears became common in Romanian mass media after 2016, when a provisional one-year ban on culling was instated, after which it increased abruptly in 2021, following the whistleblowing of an alleged trophy hunting event. The focus on human-bear interaction and hunting/poaching themes has not changed; however, the position of the media toward brown bears has become increasingly negative, even when presenting news stories covering human-bear interactions that incur no harm. To facilitate human-brown bear coexistence in Romania, scientists and practitioners should communicate with media representatives and provide a supplementary context for news stories. Evidence-informed news can help authorities better understand conflicts and create bottom-up pathways toward an optimistic future for brown bears and Romanian society.
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Kansky R. Unpacking the challenges of wildlife governance in community‐based conservation programs to promote human–wildlife coexistence. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Kansky
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology Stellenbosch University Matieland South Africa
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Papp CR, Scheele BC, Rákosy L, Hartel T. Transdisciplinary deficit in large carnivore conservation funding in Europe. NATURE CONSERVATION 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.49.81469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Achieving coexistence between humans and large carnivores in human-shaped landscapes is a complex challenge. Addressing this challenge requires the revaluation of the approaches academia uses to foster carnivore conservation and human-large carnivore coexistence. In this forum paper, we provide a brief overview of the three archetypical approaches of knowledge generation for large carnivore conservation in human dominated landscapes (disciplinary, interdisciplinary and emerging transdisciplinary approaches) and highlight the need for more explicit consideration of transdisciplinarity in large carnivore conservation funding. We refer to transdisciplinary deficit (TDD) for those situations when the context allows the implementation of transdisciplinarity but research and practice remains disciplinary or interdisciplinary. We identify drivers of this TDD and provide a brief overview of current and past conservation funding programmes at the European level in terms of their capacity to promote transdisciplinary approaches for large carnivore conservation. We show that current funding programmes favour sectorial and disciplinary approaches, resulting in low transdisciplinary substance in large carnivore conservation projects. TDD can be overcome by transforming the character of public funding towards multi-stakeholder collaboration, designing and nurturing effective communities of practice, and reducing co-financing rates for large, integrated projects.
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Morehouse AT, Hughes C, Manners N, Bectell J, Tigner J. Dealing With Deadstock: A Case Study of Carnivore Conflict Mitigation From Southwestern Alberta. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.786013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Livestock deaths are an unfortunate reality for livestock producers and dead livestock (i.e., deadstock) disposal options can have implications beyond the ranch itself. In Alberta, Canada, natural disposal (i.e., disposing of the carcass in a manner that allows for scavenging) has increased since the 2003 detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canadian cattle. Prior to BSE, rendering companies removed deadstock for free. However, rendering companies started charging producers to remove deadstock to offset costs associated with new regulatory requirements enacted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which has resulted in increased on-farm natural disposal of deadstock. This increase has ecological implications because deadstock are a major attractant for large carnivores. Carnivores feeding on deadstock are often near other agricultural attractants such as stored grain and feed, silage, and living livestock, which can exacerbate conflict potential and pose a risk to human safety. To help mitigate conflicts associated with deadstock, the Waterton Biosphere Reserve's (a local non-profit) Carnivores and Communities Program (CACP) supported expansion of community deadstock removal efforts beginning in 2009, including reimbursement of on-farm removal costs, bear-resistant deadstock bins, and a livestock compost facility (operational 2013–2014). Here, we present an evaluative case study describing the development, implementation, and results of the deadstock removal program, including the compost facility. We tracked the number of head of livestock removed each year, the number of participating landowners, the average cost per head, and total program costs. We also used an online survey to assess participants' perspectives of the deadstock removal program and future needs. To date, the CACP has removed >5,400 livestock carcasses, representing between 15.1 and 22.6% of available carcasses in the program area, and 67.3% of livestock owners indicated they currently use the deadstock removal program to dispose of deadstock. Average cost to compost an animal was significantly less than other removal methods ($36.89 composting vs. $79.59 non-composting, one-tailed t-test, unequal sampling variances: t = 4.08, df = 5.87, p = 0.003). We conclude by discussing both ecological and social implications for deadstock removal as a conflict mitigation measure and make suggestions for future management considerations.
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Zuluaga S, Vargas FH, Kohn S, Grande JM. Top-down local management, perceived contribution to people, and actual detriments influence a rampant human‒top predator conflict in the Neotropics. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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Marino A, Ciucci P, Redpath SM, Ricci S, Young J, Salvatori V. Broadening the toolset for stakeholder engagement to explore consensus over wolf management. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 296:113125. [PMID: 34246898 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Facilitating coexistence between people and large carnivores is critical for large carnivore conservation in human-dominated landscapes, when their presence impacts negatively on human interests. Such situations will often require novel ways of mediating between different values, worldviews and opinions about how carnivores should be managed. We report on such a process in an agricultural area of recent wolf recovery in central Italy where unsolved social tensions over wolf presence have radicalized opinions on either side of the wolf debate, resulting in a stalemate. Where previous mitigation policies based on top-down damage compensation have failed, we tested the potential for applying a participatory approach to engage different stakeholder groups in a dialogue aimed at sharing a deep understanding of the problem and co-creating potential solutions. We based our approach on the theory of meta-consensus, using a decision support tool known as Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Over the course of three months, we carried out five workshops with stakeholder representatives from farming, hunting and environmental associations, and one biologist. Stakeholders shared several objectives and agreed over many management interventions, including the management of free-ranging dogs, the implementation of damage prevention measures, and a damage compensation system suitable for farmers. The process facilitated agreement over actions aimed at improving relations between stakeholders and enhancing the state of knowledge on the issues at stake. Most importantly, we recorded positive social and relationship outcomes from the workshops, and observed a willingness from participants to engage in further discussions over disputed management preferences. Overall, we found MCDA to be a useful tool for laying the groundwork for further participatory and deliberative processes on wolf management. However, challenges ahead included the involvement of a larger number of representatives of different social sectors, and a simplification of the methodology which some participants found too complicated and time consuming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnese Marino
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK.
| | - Paolo Ciucci
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", La Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 00185, Roma, RM, Italy.
| | - Stephen M Redpath
- Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen. Zoology Building, Tillydrone Ave, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK.
| | - Simone Ricci
- Istituto di Ecologia Applicata di Roma, Via B. Eustachio 10, 00161, Rome, Italy.
| | - Juliette Young
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK; Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRAE, Univ. Bourgogne, Univ. Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, F-21000, Dijon, France.
| | - Valeria Salvatori
- Istituto di Ecologia Applicata di Roma, Via B. Eustachio 10, 00161, Rome, Italy.
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Gervasi V, Linnell JD, Berce T, Boitani L, Cerne R, Ciucci P, Cretois B, Derron-Hilfiker D, Duchamp C, Gastineau A, Grente O, Huber D, Iliopoulos Y, Karamanlidis AA, Kojola I, Marucco F, Mertzanis Y, Männil P, Norberg H, Pagon N, Pedrotti L, Quenette PY, Reljic S, Salvatori V, Talvi T, von Arx M, Gimenez O. Ecological correlates of large carnivore depredation on sheep in Europe. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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The wolves are coming: understanding human controversies on the return of the wolf through the use of socio-cultural values. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-021-01527-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Community-Based Conservation for the Sustainable Management of Conservation Conflicts: Learning from Practitioners. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13147557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
We explore the role of community-based conservation (CBC) in the sustainable management of conservation conflicts by examining the experiences of conservation practitioners trying to address conflicts between snow leopard conservation and pastoralism in Asian mountains. Practitioner experiences are examined through the lens of the PARTNERS principles for CBC (Presence, Aptness, Respect, Transparency, Negotiation, Empathy, Responsiveness, and Strategic Support) that represent an inclusive conservation framework for effective and ethical engagement with local communities. Case studies from India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan show that resilient relationships arising from respectful engagement and negotiation with local communities can provide a strong platform for robust conflict management. We highlight the heuristic value of documenting practitioner experiences in on-the-ground conflict management and community-based conservation efforts.
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Alexander JS, Agvaantseren B, Gongor E, Mijiddorj TN, Piaopiao T, Redpath S, Young J, Mishra C. Assessing the Effectiveness of a Community-based Livestock Insurance Program. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 68:87-99. [PMID: 33844062 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01469-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Financial mechanisms to mitigate the costs of negative human-carnivore interactions are frequently promoted to support human coexistence with carnivores. Yet, evidence to support their performance in different settings is scarce. We evaluated a community-based livestock insurance program implemented as part of a broader snow leopard conservation effort in the Tost Tosonbumba Nature Reserve, South Gobi, Mongolia. We assessed program efficiency and effectiveness for snow leopard conservation using a results-based evaluation approach. Data sources included program records from 2009 to 2018, as well as surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017, which allowed us to compare key indicators across communities that participated in the insurance program and control communities. Program coverage and number of livestock insured rapidly increased over the years to reach 65% of households and close to 11,000 livestock. Participants expressed satisfaction with the program and their contributions increased over time, with an increasing proportion (reaching 64% in 2018) originating from participant premiums, suggesting strong community ownership of the program. Participants were less likely to report the intention to kill a snow leopard and reported fewer livestock losses than respondents from control communities, suggesting increased engagement in conservation efforts. These results together suggest that the insurance program achieved its expected objectives, although it is challenging to disentangle the contributions of each individual conservation intervention implemented in intervention communities. However, in the first three years of the program, snow leopard mortalities continued to be reported suggesting that additional interventions were needed to reach impact in terms of reducing retaliatory killings of large carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bayarjargal Agvaantseren
- Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, Khan-Uul Sukhbaatar District, 3rd 4th Khoroo, Street Sharav, Chingis Ave53-9, Ulan Baatar, 17042, Mongolia
| | - Enkhtuvshin Gongor
- Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, Khan-Uul Sukhbaatar District, 3rd 4th Khoroo, Street Sharav, Chingis Ave53-9, Ulan Baatar, 17042, Mongolia
| | - Tserennadmid Nadia Mijiddorj
- Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, Khan-Uul Sukhbaatar District, 3rd 4th Khoroo, Street Sharav, Chingis Ave53-9, Ulan Baatar, 17042, Mongolia
| | - Tang Piaopiao
- Center for Nature and Society, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Stephen Redpath
- Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK
| | - Juliette Young
- NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Edinburgh, EH26 0QB, UK
- Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRAE, University Bourgogne, University Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Charudutt Mishra
- Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N., Seattle, 98103, WA, USA
- Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, 4th Cross Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India
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Are Large Carnivores the Real Issue? Solutions for Improving Conflict Management through Stakeholder Participation. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13084482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Social conflicts around large carnivores are increasing in Europe, often associated to the species expansion into human-modified and agricultural landscapes. Large carnivores can be seen as an added value by some but as a source of difficulties by others, depending on different values, attitudes, livelihoods, and everyday activities. Therefore, the effective involvement of the different interest groups is important to identify and shape tailored solutions that can potentially be implemented, complementing top-down approaches that might, on their own, result in lack of implementation and buy-in. To improve dialogue in conflictual situations, as part of a European project promoted by the European Parliament, we assessed the practical implementation of participatory processes in three sample areas in Europe where wolves and bears have recently been increasingly impacting human activities. Our results demonstrate that collaboration among different and generally contrasting groups is possible. Even in situations where large-carnivore impacts were seen as unsatisfactorily managed for many years, people were still willing and eager to be involved in alternative discussion processes hoping this would lead to concrete solutions. An important and common highlight among the three study areas was that all the management interventions agreed upon shared the general scope of improving the conditions of the groups most impacted by large carnivores. The process showed the importance of building trust and supporting dialogue for knowledge co-production and mitigation of conflicts between stakeholders and that controversial environmental issues have the potential to trigger a meaningful dialogue about broader societal issues. The direct involvement and support of competent authorities, as well as the upscaling of this process at larger administrative and social scales, remain important challenges.
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Conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity conservation in Europe: Looking to the future by learning from the past. ADV ECOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2021.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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